


Telling the Kids

by pupeez4eva



Series: Identities Revealed! (...Sort of) [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Bat Family, Failed identity reveal, Family, Gen, Humor, Identity Reveal, daddy!Bats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 12:12:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14544480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pupeez4eva/pseuds/pupeez4eva
Summary: Wherein each of Bruce's kids find out that he is Batman for the first time - and obviously don't believe him.





	Telling the Kids

_**Dick** _

 

The first time it happened was with Dick. 

 

He’d only just come to live at the manor, and Bruce still wasn’t sure what he was doing. Dick was just a child, and maybe Bruce had some insight into what he was going through, but was he _really_ the best person to help anyone — let alone a nine year old child — work through their grief?

 

He didn’t breathe a word about Batman and his nighttime activities to Dick, and if he was completely honest with himself, he didn’t plan to. Maybe it would be hard, what with Dick living at the manor permanently now, but he was sure he could find a way to keep his secret. 

 

Alfred tried to tentatively suggest that he tell Dick the truth, but Bruce brushed him off. Getting Dick involved in all this was the last thing he wanted to do. 

 

He never expected Dick to somehow stumble across the Batcave. He was still trying to process _how_ it happened — he’d always been so careful — and wondering what they’d need to change to avoid a similar incident happening in the future, when Dick, in all his tiny, nine-year-old glory, pointed an accusing finger at him and demanded to know what he’d done with Bruce.

 

Bruce stared at him for a moment, unsure of how to answer.

 

“Where’s Bruce?!” Dick continued, glaring. “I can’t find him anywhere, and now _you’re_ in his house! I know you hurt criminals, but Bruce isn’t a bad person, Mr. Batman, honestly!”

 

All thoughts of preserving his secret went out the window. He reached up and pulled off his cowl.

 

“Dick,” he said, “calm down.”

 

Dick stared at him for a long moment.

 

“Bruce,” he said at last, eyes wide in relief. Bruce felt his chest flutter slightly, a reminder that he was actually growing quite fond of this child, despite how much he wanted to deny it. Then the relief faded, and Dick’s eyes flashed in panic. “Why did you steal Batman’s costume? He’s going to kill you for this!”

 

Bruce stared blankly at Dick for a moment, too surprised to even correct Dick that _“Batman didn’t kill.”_ It took him a few moments to regain his composure, and when he did, he decided that this strange reaction was probably due to Dick’s young age.

 

It took a while, but once Bruce had shown Dick a few moves, given him a tour of the Batcave, and taken him for a ride in the Batmobile (which seemed to be the deciding factor) Dick finally seemed to accept it.

 

Later, Bruce tucked Dick into bed, unable to stop himself from smiling as the boy chattered on about how _cool_ it was that he was living with _Batman_ , and if they could go for another ride in the Batmobile tomorrow. Bruce decided that this really wasn’t so bad after all — he’d take this excitement over Dick’s sadness and grief any day.

 

(Of course, Dick soon donned his own kevlar suit and mask, and Bruce’s endless worry and stress began).

 

…

 

**_Barbara_ **

 

When Barbara first heard the words _“Bruce Wayne”_ and _“Batman”_ together in one sentence, it was before she’d ever even considered becoming a vigilante herself. It was right after the whole situation with the Joker — Barbara had stayed late after school that day to do some work in the library, and had missed the live broadcast of Batman’s unmasking. By the time she’d arrived home, the whole thing had long since been over.

 

Her dad told her the whole story — about how Joker had unmasked Batman for the whole world to see, and under the mask had been _Bruce Wayne._

 

 _“What?”_ Barbara stared at him in shock. That couldn’t be right. If he’d said anyone but Bruce, she would have believed him. This? There had to be some kind of mistake.

 

“No, it was all a genius plan,” her dad replied, taking a sip of his coffee, and shaking his head slightly. “Batman got Bruce to wear his suit and cowl. They caught the Joker completely off guard, and then Batman attacked. A risky plan, that’s for sure, but a smart one.”

 

Barbara nodded her head, still in shock. Well, at least that sounded like a more plausible explanation. 

 

Her dad was still shaking his head. “Still can’t believe Bruce went for it though — he doesn’t seem like the type of guy to risk his life.”

 

Barbara shrugged. “He seems alright.” She’d been over to Dick’s house a few times, and Bruce had always seemed nice enough. Nothing like the way he seemed on tv, and how they described him in interviews. He was still far from being _Batman_ though.

 

…

 

**_Jason_ **

 

When Bruce first told Jason that he was Batman, Jason stared at him for a long moment before saying, “Are you _really_ that desperate to adopt another kid?” 

 

Bruce sighed. “Jason. I’m wearing the Batsuit right now. You just tried to steal tires from my car — _the Batmobile.”_

 

“Yeah, Jason agreed, shrugging, “and I can’t believe that you’d actually be desperate enough to get a fake Batman costume and a fake Batmobile, and then just wait for someone to come and steal your tires.”

 

Bruce stared.

 

“I mean, I guess you do have the cash for it…”

 

“Jason,” Bruce said slowly, “did you even _hear_ what you just said?” 

 

Jason shrugged again. “Yeah. Way more likely than you being Batman.” 

 

Bruce forced himself to remain calm, while inwardly questioning why he’d ever thought this would be a good idea.

 

…

 

**_Tim_ **

 

When Tim first watched the video with Batman and the Joker, he believed that Bruce Wayne had been pretending to be Batman, just like most people did. He played around with a few other theories — maybe Bruce had been going to a costume party and the Joker had grabbed him by mistake, maybe Batman had gotten plastic surgery to look just like Bruce Wayne, so his true identity wouldn’t be revealed if anyone masked him — but the idea of Bruce and Batman being the same person didn’t even cross his mind.

 

It took him a while to make the connection, but with the amount of Robin-stalking he did (though he’d deny it was stalking if you ever asked him — he was just a huge fan, alright) it was only a matter of time before he noticed the similarities between Bruce Wayne and Batman. 

 

He told his parents and they simply laughed and told him he had a wild imagination. It didn’t take him long to realise that everyone would have a similar reaction — Batman was just too good at hiding his identity, and he’d just look like a complete idiot if he told anyone the truth.

 

He kept his revelation a secret for a few more years, until things changed, and he found himself in a position he’d only ever dreamed about — as _Robin._

 

Eventually, he got around to telling Bruce and Dick that he’d worked out Bruce’s identity right after that whole mess with the Joker.

 

Dick and Bruce both snorted in amusement.

 

“Yeah, sure you did Timmy,” Dick said, grinning.

 

“Let’s keep the jokes for when we’re not working, alright?” Bruce said, turning back to the Bat-computer.

 

Tim barely stopped himself from mentioning the irony of _them_ not believing _him._

…

 

**_Steph_ **

 

Steph thought the whole family was playing a joke on her for about a week after finding out.

 

The thought of Bruce being _Batman_ was just insane, and there was no way she was going to let them get the better of her. They may have thought she was gullible, but there was no way she was falling for it.

 

Every time someone brought it up, she’d simply laugh and make sarcastic comments — _“Sure, and I’m Superman.” “But I thought_ ** _I_** _was Batman!” “Bruce Wayne…Batman…HA!”_

 

(The last one wasn’t even a ‘sarcastic comment’ — she just can’t been able to hold back her laughter).

 

It all came to a head one night when Tim had brought it up while they’d been on patrol — Steph had laughed and said, “ _Suuuure_ he’s Batman. And I’m the Joker!”

 

Unbeknownst to her, someone had heard her and filmed the whole thing. The next day, all across the internet, were the words, “Spoiler is really the Joker in disguise!”

 

Steph found it hilarious. Bruce glared at her all throughout breakfast.

 

…

 

**_Cass_ **

 

When Cass first found out, she simply nodded in acceptance, because she’d long since made the connection. To her, it was obvious that Bruce and Batman were the same person — they moved in the same way, spoke in the same manner (despite Batman’s deeper, more gravelly voice). Everything about them was the same, and Cass wondered how anyone could think any differently.

 

When Bruce saw her reaction, his eyes widened in shock and he pulled her into a hug. He pulled back half a second later, obviously embarrassed by his reaction, but Cass didn’t mind. 

 

When she next saw Tim and Steph, she told them all about what had happened. She was still somewhat confused about it; his relief had been obvious, but she wasn’t sure _why._

 

Both Tim and Steph exchanged glances and then burst out laughing, only confusing her further. 

 

…

 

**_Damian_ **

 

Damian at first rejected the idea of Batman and Bruce Wayne being the same person. He’d known that Batman was his father for years before he finally met him in person. He’d known plenty about Bruce Wayne too — the man had popped up countless times during his research about Gotham (it was the city his father protected, and he needed to know all about it before he met the man in person), and he knew enough to know that the man was a _complete_ imbecile.

 

When he finally went to live with his father, and was instead introduced to _Bruce Wayne,_ he decided that it was just a test from his mother. Obviously Wayne wasn’t his father — he was the son of _Batman,_ and there was no way that this fool could ever be him. There was obviously a reason his mother had sent him here though, and Damian was determined not to fail her test. 

 

So he went on, pretending to be Bruce Wayne’s son, and waiting for his real father to arrive. He got to know Wayne, and was surprised to find that he wasn’t as much of a fool as the media liked to portray him. In fact, Damian would go as far as to call Wayne… _intelligent._ Not to mention, Damian had seen him sparring with Grayson in the gym a number of times, and his skills were indeed impressive.

 

By the time he it was finally revealed that they were the same person, he accepted it without question, because Bruce really wasn’t as much of an idiot as he’d initially thought.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I was basing the Barbara in this off YJ!Barbara more than comics!Barbara since this series is supposed to be set in the YJ universe.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this :) Let me know what you think! If you have anything you want to see in this series, let me know in the comments, because I’m considering writing more of these :)


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